DENVER—The Colorado health department is rebuking a federal agency and saying it hasn’t determined if a public hearing is needed for a radioactive materials license it issued to a proposed uranium mill.
The department told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a letter Friday that it’s disappointed with a letter the commission recently sent to a lawyer for the Sheep Mountain Alliance, which is challenging the license for the proposed Pinon Ridge mill in Montrose County. The NRC said in that letter that a public hearing should be held and that it’s required by law.
The health department says it held public meetings before issuing the license last year and hasn’t determined that corrective action is needed.
The Sheep Mountain Alliance has filed a lawsuit alleging the public process wasn’t adequate.
